The Reaper
by AgentofDarkness
Summary: "I will never be forgotten. Thousands of years from now, when the name Perseus Jackson is uttered, gods will tremble in fear, monsters will flee with their tails tucked between their legs and mortals will make offerings to appease me. I am an idea, and an idea can never be destroyed. Probably. Probably not."
1. Since When Is Concoct A Real Word?

**To people who have not read this before, go on normally.**

 **I got an awesome beta reader, HardSonadowFanGirl. So thank her for all the mistakes that you don't see, and thank me for all the mistakes you do see.**

 **To people who have read this before, reread it because I'm in the process of rewriting this story.**

 **TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ THIS BEFORE, I'VE ADDED MORE IN THIS CHAPTER RATHER THAN POSTING A NEW ONE, SO THAT MY AVERAGE CHAPTER LENGTH IS NOT TOO DIFFERENT AND DOESN'T SUCK.**

 **All the major plot lines will stay the same, but I'm going to be changing quite a bit.**

 **Thanks for choosing Reaper Airlines, and we hope you die on this flight.**

The first thing I registered was a dull throbbing, or was it that incessant voice? More likely the dull throbbing, but in retrospect, it doesn't really matter. "Percy. Wake up," that annoying voice repeated for what must have been the hundredth time. I held my hands to my head in a futile attempt to stop the headache, or at least alleviate it. I failed, badly. I blinked away the dust of sleep, and stretched my muscles, as they were a bit cramped.

I looked around the room for a second to familiarize myself with my surroundings. I ignored the Iris message in front of me, which contained the image of a motherly-looking figure wearing a toga and sporting a disappointed look. Her black hair somehow enhanced the image of disappointment I could see in her eyes, for some odd reason. The rest of the room had a desk, and a small chair in the corner, and, can't forget the mini-bar. I must have been checked into a hotel last night for some reason.

I scanned the room looking for a bag, and found it in a corner of the room, as if thrown there carelessly. I frowned, as I tried to remember if I did that, but nothing came back to me. I cast my attention back to the goddess in front of me. "What's up?" I asked groggily. I take more than 2 seconds to properly wake up. Sue me. I looked away from her. I just couldn't handle her looking disappointedly at me, again, because I was here again, passed out from drinking.

She had no idea that this was the only way I could ward off the horrors that visited my mind every night. It was the only way I could sleep in peace. Meh, let her think what she wants to think. Who cares anyway? _You Do,_ a little voice in the back of my head said _. Shut up._ I replied using my standard response. I sat upright on my bed, or whoever's bed this is, laid my hands on my lap, and stared at them. The balcony was open, I noticed, another pointless small detail that the back of my mind found important for some reason.

We both knew that this issue was something that a stern talking to wouldn't fix, so we both were more than happy to gloss over it. That disappointed look, however, filled me with completely unwarranted guilt. "I have a favour to ask of you, Percy." My eyes, just for a fraction of a second, darted to look at her, before returning to their original place. "It's always I need you to do this. I need you to do that. Why can't it ever be a social rainbow?" I asked. "Are you using me?" I continued, as I gasped in an over-exaggerated way. I looked up atif her to see her reaction.

Her face had a small smile on it. Now, we could get back to our normal routine, and the guilt wouldn't have to be so present. I stood up and looked her, directly in the eyes. "I live to serve," I said as I made a mockery of what a proper bow should look like. I liked this. This was safe. Less painful emotions involved. "I need you to retrieve two demi-gods from Westover Hall Maine." Odd. Usually, whenever she asks me to retrieve a demi-god, it's because their home-life is less than optimal. Hmmm. It must be a boarding school, then. It does sound like a pretentious school. It would have a French accent if it could speak. I just know it. Returning to the real world, I asked Hestia," Who's their pops?" Her face didn't change at all from her normal expression. "Hades." Since everyone can't be as good an actor as her, I had to actually have an outward reaction, a small one, but one nonetheless. I raised an inquisitive eyebrow. It gave the entire game away, right?

"The big man downstairs couldn't keep his thing in his pants?" Something about this wasn't quite right. Hestia wasn't angry at all at Hades for breaking the oath that the big three swore, stating that none of them could sire demi-gods again due to the power that their offsprings possessed. "Hades sired them long before the oath was made." Why was she not explaining the entire thing to me? Did she not want to tell me about it? "If you don't want to tell me about it. You don't have to, jeez. All you have to do is say that you don't want to tell me."

I focused in on her features to monitor her reaction. Was this a challenge to show how much she trusted me, or an actual statement that had no ill feelings behind it? I have no idea. Perhaps, I need to know her response and my emotions will tell me what I really feel. I've lived for so, so long, perhaps too long, and I still wasn't in tune with what the rest of me wanted.

"No. It's just, if Zeus was ever to find out, it would cause another war, and I was careful not to tell anyone, but I do trust you not to tell anyone else about this. It's just… I don't want to betray Hades' trust." That means that them being Hades' children was not the biggest issue, and there was even more to it. However, on another note, I felt an emotion bubble in my stomach. Happiness, I think. It did warm me to know that she trusted me. "You really shouldn't trust me about this. I mean, I could be your worst enemy. I could be the best Brutus that you have ever seen." I said in quite an exaggerated sinister voice. Perhaps, I exaggerate everything a tad too much.

She smiled at my remark, and none of that small smile that doesn't really count as a smile to everyone. It was a smile that took control of her whole face, and in that smile, I could make out some wrinkles. An odd thing to keep, especially since her laughs are far and few in between, nowadays. It speaks a lot about how the world is now, I suppose.

"Nico and Bianca were born in the 1930s. Zeus tried to kill them, and their mother by destroying their hotel. Hades protected them and sent them to the Lotus hotel. After about 70 years, he placed them in the boarding school hoping that one of them would become the child of the prophecy. If Zeus was ever to find proof about this, war would consume Olympus and the Titans would easily overthrow us, as we did them."

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait a second. You said "find proof about this", not "find out about this". Did you really think I was going to miss that small detail?" I asked Hestia. "Zeus may have already sent Artemis and her hunters to find out about the powerful demi-gods in Maine." I snorted, loudly, and shook my head looking at her head in mock disappointment. "You would have sent me there with no knowledge that ARTEMIS was there. Does my life mean so little to you?" I paused a bit to give her the idea that I was done talking. She opened her mouth to begin speaking, but I interrupted her before she could continue. "No. No. I can never forgive you for this. I-I.. I just need some time."

I turned around to face the open balcony, so that my back was turned towards her. I added a fake sob for some extra effect. I could feel her roll her eyes behind me, or not, but I'd like to think that I can. "It's too late to apologize." I sang in a sad tone. I turned around and slashed the Iris message and stopped the fake tear work. Well, at least I have evidence that she was rolling her eyes. That's what I cut through, after all. Off to Maine, we head. And our death, is assured.

But, before our death, and all that nonsense, time to don on our battle-armour. What a fancy name for a bunch of crap, that may or may not have saved my life many times in a lot of different occasions. I grabbed my brown bag, that looked a lot like what you would expect a boy's scout bag to look like, and donned on my battle-armour. All the time, I wondered, how many scout jokes can I make off of this bag? There's the popular scout's honour, and the attention thing, which can be used as sexual innuendo, but what else? I wonder... I wonder…

Anywayyyy. After the whole process of wearing something, which takes a lot of time when you don't have servants to help you. Rich lord problems, right? I inspected myself in the mirror, something that I hadn't noticed because it looked so shy just hanging there on the wall that the mini-bar rested against.

I wore a normal t-shirt, with a picture of fudge, and a tag above it, saying "Go Fudge Yourself." Fun Stuff. This would not hinder my movement, whatsoever, but would give me no armour either. I wore a jacket above my shirt with 5 throwing daggers on either side. However, they had a small pocket that only let their tip show to confuse any suspecting opponent of their existence. It gets a bit awkward to quickly grab them if you aren't used to them. Inside my jacket, on either side, hung a small ornament. It was a shield about the size of a keychain. Guess what it turns into?

And last, but not least, on the back of my jacket, hung two sheathes that held 2, 3ft swords in them. It was a bit uncomfortable to have them on my back in the beginning, but it was easier to quickly draw them from their sheathes if they were on my back than if they were on either side of my legs. Now, it's actually time to head out to my doom. At least, the contrast of my black jacket and pants against my white shirt looked freakin epic.

I viewed the situation in Westover Hall from afar. It is, as always, better to survey the situation before getting into it. Probably. Probably not. Meh. From what I could see, there were 6 people. I couldn't make out anything except some vague features. Blond hair, an adult, raven hair, 2 kids, and a Goth are all that came at me. It looked like the Goth girl and the raven guy were having an argument, and that they were all being led by the adult to somewhere. Seeing as Westover is in the middle of nowhere, this raised some red flags.

There was nowhere to go, but they were heading towards the cliffs, which makes this statement moot. The teacher probably had a ride planned. Boat or Heli…. Or magic. Magic is better, seeing as a tail sprung out of him. I don't even want to know where he hid that thing. I needed to stop them before they got to the cliffs. I rose out of my crouched positions in the bush, and silently ran towards them, stepping only on the front part of my feet.

I felt something prickly in the back of my neck, like I was being watched. Fun. Artemis and her band of not-at-all merry girls were here. This would be more difficult than I had originally anticipated. I shouted to get the adult's attention. I was careful not to be too close to alarm him, but not to be so far away as to let him think that he could just walk away. "Hey, dude." I couldn't make out the conversation that I had just interrupted, and more importantly, I said dude? I can't even…

The adult turned his attention to me. I surveyed the crowd again and began to pick up on some of their more subtle features, as in, everything. The Goth girl had spiky black hair, blue eyes, and a leather jacket that practically screamed punk. She also had a Barbie shirt… with an arrow through the head of said Barbie… How cute. The guy with raven hair had blue eyes and an orange shirt, and nothing else seemed to stand out. The blond had piercing grey eyes and an inquisitive feel. Daughter of Athena. The kid had messy hair and olive skin, similar to what must be his sister. Although, her hair was more kempt and looked silky.

Daughter of Athena, and 2 children of Hades, so absolutely no useful knowledge gained. Probably. Probably not. "What do you want, kid?" The monster asked. Which avenue should I pursuit? Probably one that doesn't involve him seeing my sheathes because that would be messy. **So what? Kill him. Put him down like the bug he is.** That just wouldn't be proper, now, would it, I asked the voice in my head mockingly? The voice stayed silent. Screw him. Or her. Or it. If I could just plant a sword in him before he completely transforms, that would be just dandy. To do that, I would need to approach him and make him drop his guard for a few beautiful seconds.

What information do we have? Think. Think. Okay… The 2 kids are students, and the other 3.. What 4? Goddamn head... Freakin missing what's right in front of it. The last visitor that I hadn't noticed. He had curly brown hair, a wispy beard, and brown eyes… and a pair of horns? Good. Good. He's a satyr. That means they're from the camp, so they're trying to rescue those 2 demi-gods. That means he must have smelt the monster, and asked for assistance. That means that the adult is a powerful monster.

 _What More?_ None of them are worse for wear, and that means that they didn't fight. So, the guy must have threatened them. That means that some of them might still have their weapons, but I shouldn't depend on a "might". How did the threat work? Demi-gods are not exactly smart about the dangers they go into. That means that the threat of a dangerous monster wouldn't be enough. That monster would need leverage, hostages. So he picked the brother and sister from the school, but did he kidnap them or trick them? I surveyed the 2 kids again and realized that there were no signs of tear, or wear on their uniform, which means that he tricked them. That must mean that he's a teacher, but how could a teacher convince them to go outside the school with him? He couldn't. He must have threatened them, but why?

The raven haired looked like he was in quite a bit of pain, and that equals to a fight. I have all the pieces, now, time to concoct a story… Really? Concoct? Is that even a word that's used anymore? That's the 'most' important thing to focus on right now… "Hey prof, I read your last work, and I must say that it is amazing. I especially like the new approach that you took. What made you think of this new way to look at things in, specifically, this subject?" I used dude, might as well use prof. Keep it vague, and keep him confused. It was working. He was furiously trying to remember if he had ever done any work in his time in this persona. The answer was nope.

All the while, I slowly approached him. I kept my back away from him, and he kept his back away from me. It was a mutual thing. He had a tail that he didn't wanna show, and I had some mighty swords that I didn't wanna show. "Man. You're my hero. Do you mind if I take a picture with you real quick?" At this point, I was already close enough to deal a fatal strike, but I couldn't, just yet. I needed some information. Why was he after these 2 kids in particular? I can't exactly question a dead man, no matter how awesome I am.

I took my phone out of my pocket and prepared to take a selfie. He was none the wiser, as he tried to hide his tail from me. I used his frantic attempts, to 'accidently' drop my phone. "Sorry about that." I said. "I always drop my phone." Now was the time. He found a perfect time to hide his tail, while I was distracted, and I found a perfect time to put my sword against his neck. My right hand grasped the left sword and had it a hair's length away from his neck in less than a second, and my left hand grasped my right sword and sliced his tail clean off. A pity too. He looked like he was just about to say his first words in this conversation.

"One, very small question. Who sent you here? And if I don't like your answer. Your head is gonna come clean off. And don't even try to move." I looked towards the rest of the happy party, "Go, make whoopie, or grab your things. Do something." I focused my attention back on the monster. "Who?" I demanded. "WHY DID THEY SEND YOU?"

"The General sent me to collect the children of Hades. I'll spare your life if you walk away, little mortal. You can still walk away from this." I could hear a helicopter flying in from our west, but I couldn't risk looking to confirm my hearing. "Today is not your lucky day." I sliced his throat wide open. No blood spurted out. He transformed into some sort of lion-winged beast, then dissipated into yellow stripper dust. I turned my attention to the helicopter. It was still a bit off, but it was too close for comfort. "Might as well come out, Arty. No point in hiding in the shadows now." I said to the shadows behind me without looking back. I could clearly see that there was a machine gun attached to the chopper. It would take but one throw to kill the person manning the chopper, and two to kill the pilot, depending on the type of glass the helicopter has. But, I do dislike murder. How about leaving it up to fate?

I waited for the helicopter to come by. "Get back. This won't be pretty. Probably." I said to the others. **Kill them all. They don't deserve to live.** I ignored the voice and focused on the chopper. It was about time. My shield better be strong enough, and my aim true enough. I reached into my jacket's pocket and prepared myself for the throw. I turned it around, so that it would be vertical rather than horizontal and threw the shield at the blades of the chopper, activating it at the last second. "Aegis" I muttered with less than an ideal amount of hope for a crazy plan. The shield grew about 10 times its original size and hit its target. The blades stopped spinning and made quite an annoying sound whenever they hit the shield.

I moved back a bit, just in case the chopper landed on this side. Thankfully, for once, it did not. The pilot turned it around, and tried to move it towards the sea. The gunman abandoned his post and jumped out. The pilot thought it wise to copy his friend. I turned around and left my handiwork behind to focus on everything else. Lost a shield. Fun. A bunch of teenage, probably hormonal, hunters wearing silver parkas and shorts that preach man-hatred and man-specific manslaughter that were aiming their bows at me. More fun.

 **I won't ask again. I'll just ask this one time.**

 **Can you guys just review for the first chapter, so I know what the tone of this story should be? Should the chapter be longer? Should I not include so much detail? Should I include more? Were the characters poorly portrayed? Is my writing lacking somehow? Please review and tell me how to better this story. Also, did the whole him thinking of how to properly start the fight suck, or suck big time? Criticism only.**


	2. Sleep 'Til The Dew

_I turned around and left my handiwork behind to focus on everything else. Lost a shield. Fun. A bunch of teenage, probably hormonal, hunters wearing silver parkas and shorts that preach man-hatred and man-specific manslaughter that were aiming their bows at me. More fun._

"Heya", I said with a small wave of my hand, but they didn't seem much for small talk. I surveyed the small group of hunters and tried to pinpoint which one of them stood out, which one of them would be the leader. Trying to find my diamond was easier than I thought. It was the eyes, really. Her cold piercing eyes that spoke of a thousand lives lived ,and a thousand lives lost spoke volumes more than actual words could, or at least that's what my mind thinks. Her 13-year-old form couldn't deceive me, but her eyes were fascinating. My mind is stupid.

I felt something, or rather, multiple things grasped me. They were shorter than me, for sure. I looked down into familiar faces in foreign territory. In the back of my head, my mind registered the quick ramblings of a ridiculous satyr, but that was neither here nor there.

The first one had blond hair, grey eyes, and a heart-shaped face. My mind associated her with an 8-year-old girl that I rescued from a less than satisfactory life with her paedophile of an uncle, Chloe. She had a bright future if I remembered correctly. The second one had black hair, and brown eyes. She was a 7-year-old daughter of Hermes that lived with abusive parents, Ashley. The third one had black hair, like the other, but her eyes were a troubled green. She was a 10-year-old orphan. Diane.

All these girls, Hestia had me rescue. All from pasts better left buried. "Percy, you came back." Ashley said. She was rather energetic, even for her age. I sat down on the ground cross-legged and relaxed on the ground. I looked to the sky, an attempt to make Artemis even angrier and, therefore, even more likely to make a mistake. "Of course, I came back. Sorry it took so long, though. I wasn't sure how Arty would have taken it. Me being a 'pig' and all that." I said sheepishly.

No interruptions. It must mean that Artemis wanted to survey the situation before reacting, odd. I had it on good information that referring to her as 'Arty' would have driven her to the brink of madness. Probably. Probably not. Did the girls tell Arty about me? Is that why I don't have an arrow through my heart? I can't see the reaction of the other hunters, though. Making a statement is annoying. It prevents me from checking everyone's reactions. It weakens my potential, but it also has a great reward if done properly.

"So, how have the hunters been treating you, girls?" Perhaps, a fight would not be the only option, but I don't know if they heard of the parentage of the brother and sister. That would be a problem. "It's soooo cool." Ashley said excitedly. The other girls chuckled and added on. "We learned how to shoot arrows, and we learned how to track." Chloe said. "I'm a better tracker then these two, eggheads, right here."

"It's only because you're a daughter of Athena. I'm much better at shooting than both you two." Diane said proudly. Ashley hadn't spoken up till now. Her exuberance was gone. "What's up, Ash?" She turned her head to look at both of the girls then looked at her hands. "It's just that… I'm not as good as either of them.. I don't know how to shoot a bow well. And I'm not that good at tracking." She looked sad, the kind of sad that you just want to cuddle until it goes away. "Ashley," I began strongly to get her attention. "Just because you're not good at something when you start it, doesn't mean you won't get much better at it with practice. Also, you're much better than them in a bunch of things. I know for a fact that no one can catch up with you when you're running."

That was apparently the correct thing to say as it brought her out of her slump. "Now, I need to talk to Artemis because I've been ignoring her for you guys too long. We don't wanna seem rude now, do we?" The three of them shook their head in unison. I rose up slowly with a prolonged groan. "I'm getting too old for this." They giggled. I felt a bit happier, even though I was close to death. I guess making other people be happy is how I get happy. That could be my downfall, or my greatest strength. Who knows?

Time to look at what I have been ignoring for the last few minutes. I scanned the hunters and the group alongside them. The campers, for the most part, were confused, but Nico appeared to be enjoying himself and mumbling something about cards, attack, and defence, and the satyr was just completely bonkers at that point. The hunters, save for Artemis were itching to get their hands on me. They were all prepared to fire, save for the odd few who thought that aiming their weapons at someone their sisters liked was not a very wise choice.

"So. Lady Artemis. How have you been doing on this fine, warm, night?" I asked, all the while gesturing grandly at the sky. I slowly made my way to Artemis. "Stop, boy." She said with an authoritative voice. Ah. It's been so long since I've been called a boy. It kinda warms my heart a bit. I wish I could go back to the good old days, the days that I still had my innocence. That would just be dandy. If only days like those ever existed…

I stopped and complied with her wishes. "Who are you, boy?" Was she just making a point of repeating the word boy over and over again? If she said it 10 times, would she win a BRAND NEW CAR? Probably not. "My name is Percy Jackson, milady," I said as I gave the same exaggerated bow that I gave to Hestia this morning. I wondered which topic she would breach first: the whole me going into her camp and dropping off little pellets of happiness, or the whole my calling her Arty?

"Who told you of our world, boy?" Told me? What the hell did she mean by that? Who knows? _Well, let's ask her, idiot._ Fine. Fine. Just chillax. "Umm. What?" I said bemusedly. "You are a mortal. Who told you of our world?" That authoritative voice was a real turn on. It was the same kind of voice that a dominatrix would possess. I chuckled lightly. I probably confused Artemis a bit, but she didn't show it. At least this situation wouldn't be too easy to read. More fun for me.

"Sorry," I said, as my laughs finally died down. "I don't really classify with mortal. I find that I fit more with monsters than I do anything else?" My private little joke. It's sad that every joke has a little piece of truth inside it. "But enough about me. You're gonna collect those children and bring them before Zeus, correct?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Half the time, I already know what is going to be said. I just need to say it out loud, so that my mind can work in the back burner and figure other problems out. "Look," I continued without giving her a chance to reply, "it would really be for the best if you just walked away and forgot about this." I placed a special emphasis on the walked away part. A threat. It wasn't exactly a subtle one, either.

"Are you threatening our lady, boy?" Her boy was far more aggressive and insulting than Artemis', or at least that was the intent of it. "Me, threaten a goddess? Of course, not. Perish the thought." I said with mock offense. "However, I have a piece of information that would benefit Olympus, greatly. I could easily exchange this piece of information for a small promise that says you won't tell another soul about this."

"I'd really love it if we could avoid any type of bloodshed today." Artemis was mulling this over, unsure what to think, but why? Why was she mulling this over? Why was she not enraged, insulted? Something must have happened that I did not take into account, but what? It's pointless to think about it now, especially with no clues that could help in this train of thoughts.

"What is this information?" She asked, shocking the other hunters. _Our love was madeeee to rule the world..._ That came out of nowhere... Anyway… This missing puzzle piece is really annoying because, by all accounts, I should be dead right now, or at least dying. Really, really annoying. It must be staring me in the eye and mocking me at this point, but that's neither here nor there. Let's focus on the present. "Let me tell you a story. It's true. Scout's honour." I said, as I reconfigured myself to become the best story-teller onhh this side of the world.

"Milady, this BOY, is insulting you. Permission to kill him?" One of the faceless hunters asked. Why can't they stand out? Why must they be faceless? Maybe if I get to know them, they'll seem like actual human beings, and not just a crowd. "Peace in the audience. My tale has yet to begin." I said, zeroing in on Artemis to monitor her reaction. "Where were we? Oh, yes." I said, knowing full well where we stopped.

"Scout's honour. Long ago, in the Titanomachy, there was a creature. An innocent creature with the power to defeat all the gods. Yet, this creature did not desire to harm anyone, and perhaps that was what gave it all of its power. A titan stumbled upon this creature and slayed it, yet, before he could burn it to harness its power, Zeus' eagle swept in and retrieved the entrails." Arty's eyebrows rose in shock. Cool, a reaction, finally. "An Ophiotaurus. That's what it was. It's back again."

"Is my information not worthy of the small oath that I ask from you?" I asked. I hate it when my speaking turns into that. It sounds so old. "I've been sent to hunt a monster with immense power. I would have found out that it was an Ophiotaurus without your help." I smirked. The most important part of this small piece of knowledge was not revealed, yet.

"This isn't everything. Just the first part. To get to the second part, please swear an oath on the river Styx. Thank you, and we hope you enjoy your stay in hell." I said in a machine-like voice. Hmm, just my word won't be enough to convince her that that is the truth. Let's up the stakes a bit. "I swear on the Styx that the information that I have not revealed yet is much more valuable to you than what I just said." In the background, the tell-tale sign of thunder rumbling marked an oath recognized by the river. "All you have to do is swear that not a single one of you is going to reveal the identities of the twins." Twins? When did I find out that they were twins?

I probably didn't, but from how similar they look, it's very likely that they are twins. Stupid brain, or rather good brain. Good brain. You've done well. **Why not just kill them? They're weak. They don't deserve to live.** You're like a broken tape at this point. You should really stop trying, thing/man/person/crap.

"I, Artemis goddess of the moon, hereby, swear on the river Styx that I, these campers, and my hunters will not reveal to anyone these children are the offsprings of Hades." Thunder rumbled. Her pierced eyes, well, pierced through me. She knew that I didn't know if she knew who they were. Smart. "I knew I liked you. Well played, Arty, but don't think that I won't find out about what happened?" I said with a smirk? Was it smart to announce my intention to delve into her past? Probably. Probably not, but I need to know why this is not going according to every possible scenario I played in my head.

She is behaving oddly, but then again, so are her hunters. I would have expected a couple of arrows to be shot at me by this point in time. Odd. She must have known that I was coming then, and warned her hunters to be on their best behaviour, but no one knew that I was coming here, expect if I was being tracked? No, that's very unlikely. I would have felt it if I was being watched, especially after all this time of training.

Hestia… I balled my hands into fists in what was probably a failed attempt to contain my rage. She was the only one who knew that I was coming here. I breathed in and out, heavily, and forced my smirk to reattach itself to my face. It's show time… "A very important detail that I did not tell you was that I killed the Ophiotaurus. So, you really shouldn't go hunting for it because, you know, it's dead." That was not one of my proudest moments. That was a memory that I wanted to put to bed long ago… I didn't want to kill Bessy… Why the hell did I name her? That just made it that much harder to finish the job…

Hestia. Screw you. Just, screw you. "Don't worry, I froze the carcass and broke it into millions of pieces. No one will be able to use it against you, luv." Time to see what that raises. Let's raise the stakes even more. I turned around and faced the cliffs. The sound of the crashing waves and the smell of sea in the air was sort of calming. One, two, and three seconds passed by. I heard indistinguishable angry shouting, but no arrows fired. This sucks. The danger isn't present anymore. It's not fun anymore. I rotated and faced them, again. Angry looks from all the hunters, but Artemis knew the game I was playing at. This makes it a bit more interesting, but a fake game is still a fake game, regardless of the opponent.

"Not even the 'luv' thing, huh? That's some nice control that you have right there." I said. "You're still gonna lose the game though. I've just been playing it for so much longer than you. I have a bit of an unfair advantage cause of that." I have one last card to play, but it's a dirty card. A card that I really shouldn't play because it's gonna raise some serious questions and it's gonna take the game to a place that I don't want it to go. My past is the last place I want to visit.

I hummed a bit, and then sang a lullaby.

"Hush-a-bye, baby,  
The night winds are sighing,  
Go to sleep, baby,  
The crickets are crying;  
Sleep 'til the dew  
On the green grass is winking,  
Sleep 'til the morning sun,  
Wakens you blinking.

Warm in their woolly folds,  
Lambkins are resting,  
Soft in their swaying beds,  
Birdies are nesting;  
All through the night,  
In your cradle lie dreaming,  
'Til the bright sun  
Through the window comes streaming.

Off in the distance,  
A hoot owl is calling,  
Into sweet dreams,  
Little babes should be falling;  
Hush-a-bye, baby,  
It's time you were sleeping,  
'Til rays of sunlight  
At morning come creeping. "

"Like I said." I smirked. "I've been playing this game far longer than you have." She was finally, properly, shocked. I'd won, but perhaps I gave away too much. Only time will tell. I still remember that lullaby. She sang it, when I needed it most. She thought that I was a child that needed to be nursed and helped. She was very wrong, but it was something that I never had in my life, motherly-love.

I appreciated it far more than words can ever describe, but Leto's gone now, and the game must go on. I lost so much… But, onto happier thoughts. In my reminiscing of days gone by, I failed to notice something very important. Artemis had her bow pointed directly at my heart and was looking very shaken. "WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT?" She asked angrily. The bow-string was shaking slightly. Oh, it was her hands. I must have affected her far more than I predicted.

"Oh. These words have meaning to you? I didn't realize it. What meaning do they have?" I asked innocently.

"DON'T YOU PLAY GAMES WITH ME. WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT?" She repeated with even more anger if that was possible. "My life means little to me, so that bow doesn't frighten me, little girl." I said, putting as much underhanded insult in the words 'little girl' as I could. In my head, I sounded a bit Russian for some reason. "Put the bow away, and let's talk like the adults that we have to pretend to be."

"I'd prefer to talk in your tent, though. More private. Wouldn't you agree?" Artemis finally released the bowstring and put the bow back in its place. "Fine." She was pretending. She was still as angry as she was. The anger was just, held back now, for lack of a better phrase. This is gonna be fun. Probably. Probably not.

 **Tell me what you think guys. I'm not sure if this went the right way, if I portrayed the characters correctly, if I was too vague, and most importantly, if the actual story-telling method was any good. Thanks for reviewing/reading/being awesome. Also, the lullaby is from . . It's not mine. And for that matter, anything in this story expect the change in the plot order, and the personality of Percy, for the most part, is not mine.**

 **Also, looking for a dedicated beta reader.**

 **And, I won't be able to upload on Friday, but I will be upload on Saturday.**


	3. You were like WOOOSH

**If you want to be involved with some of the behind-the-monitor- aspects of the story, read the ANs, but if you don't, just dive into the story. Hey guys, what's up? Sorry about the late upload. No excuses… My official upload time, until school starts again, will be 11pm GMT +2. I'll try to make my chapters longer and longer as we go on. Can you do me a small favour and do this 2 question poll about the story? www.** **Polljunkie** **poll/xfgpix/the-reaper Just delete the spaces. Thanks, :D.**

 **NoraSpace: Copious is not a real word :P, and there's a lot more to Percy than you think, so he can't make these sort of jokes all the time.**

 **Without further ado, the story. Probably, probably not.**

"I hate you, like, seriously, hate you," I said to the Iris message of Hestia that I had opened. "You took away all my fun… You had one job…" I said with a childish pout. You probably couldn't tell that I'm angry from my tone, and maybe I wasn't. I was just really frustrated. That's the one thing that I have, the thrill. The thrill of doing something that would probably end up with you dead. That's why I get up in the morning.

She rolled her eyes. "If I hadn't told Artemis about you, she would have castrated you." She said in a bored tone, as if she had already known that she was gonna have this argument, and, also, that my argument was gonna be as ridiculous as it was. Am I that predictable?

"Well.", I said. "That's pretty presumptuous of you. For all you know, I wanted my pee pee to go bye bye. You don't know. That's a fashion statement that I could get behind. Sadly, I won't be able to get behind anything else If I do choose to follow that bold… bold statement." I said, highlighting the preposition, while wiggling my eyebrows. Maybe in, on, or under would have been funnier… Oh well, too late now.

"You completely changed the subject into something dirty, you pervert," I said enraged – not really. "So," I started on the monkey in the room, and yes that is a real thing, "what are we gonna do with the twins?" She's not even impressed that I figured out that they were twins… I mentally pouted. She's mean.

Hestia sighed. "My brother told me that he wants them to remain here, provided their identities are not revealed." She looked around, uncomfortable. "He also said that you shouldn't forget about your first meeting." I could sense that she felt dirty even saying that veiled threat, or rather, not veiled threat.

"Sooooo, I'm going to be blackmailed." I hummed, looking around the forest. I'd left the rest of them, and went here to make the Iris call. Last I checked, they were setting up for the night. Well, them minus two people. Probably one from each of the two subgroups, seeing as they weren't huddled together, and one of them just plain sucked at hiding. I could feel them staring at me. I'm not sure if that's my special ability, or I just developed it after so, so many battles.

I returned my attention to Hestia. "Well that sounds like a bunch of fun, and let me guess, he wants me to stay and make sure that their identities are not revealed? Not just make sure that Artemis doesn't reveal it?" She nodded. "That's just great. I've always wanted to go to a camp, make S'mores, have a 3 week romance and call it the love that got away. That's what people do at camps, right? I have no idea." I shrugged casually. Look at me, making the best out of a bad situation. I'm a great guy. I tried to keep my mental laughter in. No, I'm really not.

It just got silent, the call that is. "Well, this was fun, as always. But, I've got to end the call. Like, always. So… Make smart choices. Participate in the world's largest orgy. And drink fat. I hear it tastes good." I said, trying to part off some of my knowledge, before my death, to the younger generation.

"I've got to go now, cause I've got some company. And, by God, is that company rude." I'll play along with Artemis and let her think that I have no idea that I've got a hot little piece of tail tailing me. Tail is a term people still use? Right? Right? I got a silent response in my head, save for the cricket that I imagined chirping to complement the atmosphere.

Let's see which one of the campers would be the most likely to follow me. The satyr is too madly in love with Artemis. The twins wouldn't be that curious to follow a strange man, especially after what they just saw him doing. The black-haired guy didn't strike me as too smart, or actually willing to do anything to sate his curiosity. The daughter of Zeus was, well, a daughter of Zeus. That just left the daughter of Athena.

I could be oh, so very wrong, but I'm much more likely to be right. Stereotypes, even though they don't apply to everyone of the group, apply to the majority. That's why they exist. If you have no knowledge, a stereotype is here to guide you to the light of ignorance. "Come out, daughter of Athena. No need to hide in the shadows waiting to scare me, that's sorta my job."

I turned around to face her and gave her one of my smirks, one of my worldwide famous smirks. I heard a snort in my head. I don't even know if I did that, or if the voices in my head took the liberty to do that.

"What can I do ya for?" I asked her. I completely ignored the look of embarrassment on her face, and stared hard into her eyes, a silent challenge. She looked away. Yay, I guess. "How did you know I was there?" She asked me. Any normal person would have asked how long, as that is the typical question, but a daughter of Athena… You know what, head? You mind stopping the stereotype for a bit? It was useful, but now it's just annoying. Okay? Okay? Good.

"Would you believe me if I said that the voices in my head told me that you were there?" I asked mysteriously just to annoy her. Every lie has a bit of truth in it, or complete bull poop. The latter is much more likely. "No." She simply stated. That answer wasn't fun at all… It could have been so much better. Probably, probably not.

"Might as well get back to the campsite. It is getting pretty dark." I said, looking at the sky. It was pretty dark, and cloudy, but the moonlight seemed to dissuade the clouds from attempting to go near it, revealing its odd beauty to the world below. I wonder if Artemis would take it as an insult if I complimented the moon, just because I am a, in her words 'boy'. She gave me an affirmative nod, and we started our, rather short, journey back to the camp of man-hating hunters. Smart. Am I wrong, or am I wrong?

I grabbed my bag, and followed her on what was, probably not, the right route. Not a few seconds into our journey, she began a small-budget re-enactment of the Spanish inquisition. "You're a mortal." She stated, I think. The actual sentence would lead anyone to believe that it isn't a question, but the slight rise at the end of the sentence indicates the opposite. Might as well stop thinking and answer.

"Nahhhhhh." Nah? I don't even know who I am anymore…"I'm a flying fairy with the ability to transform into a terrifying dragon once a night, but I must rest in a castle and babysit a woman. I breathe fire to let out my pain, and fart, because, well… I don't think you're old enough to hear about the bees and pots." She looked at me, as if I'd grown a second head.

Jeez, you try to tell the truth and this is the kind of reception that you get? "Relax… What's your name again?" I asked. "I never gave it to you." She replied. I sighed and tried to blink away the emotion that makes you say… "GODDAMN IT BOB. THAT'S A DOOR. JUST USE THE HANDLE. THAT'S A FREAKIN BUCKET. NO. NO… GRAB THE THING STICKING OUT OF THE DOOR… NOT THE ACTUAL DOOR… You know what, Bob? You're doing, great. Just great."

"I know. That's just how you're supposed to 'politely' ask for a name from someone that you've met, distrust for no clear reason, but need to hold a civil conversation with." I really shouldn't rant too much. That's her job, after all. She looked at the ground embarrassed and a kicked a pebble that happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Poor pebble… IT HAD A FAMILY. _Not really._ You don't know that… Stupid head.

"My name is Annabeth," she said, momentarily turning around as she told me. "And mine is Percy," I said very slowly over-pronouncing every syllable, if such a thing existed, as if I was talking to a child. The silence that hung in the air was starting to get on my nerves, and the pair of eyes following our movements wasn't making the situation any better.

"Yes. I'm a mortal." I sighed deeply. I'm gonna regret this, aren't I? "What else do you wanna know?" Why? Why? Why can't I just love silence? Why can't I just be that type of guy that can hang in the background, speak only two words, and look like the most badass character that an anime could ever produce? _Because you're an idiot_. Jeez… Thanks for that. I really appreciate it. I've been thinking… Maybe, just maybe, you're taking up too much space in my head? Silence, great.

"So that must mean that you're a clear sighted mortal." At this point, all I have to do is to keep repeating acknowledgements until she finishes with what sounds like a conversation, but is really a monologue. Unless, she can't connect the dots. "Bingo was his nameo."

She stopped dead in her tracks, and turned around. She pointed at me. I was a bit confused to be completely frank. I wish my name was Frank because that would have made a great pun, even though there aren't a lot of great puns. "How did you get your hands on "How were you able to get your hands on Celestial Bronze?"

Hmmm, what a very good question, which deserves a very good answer. "Would you believe me if I said that Hephaestus, personally, crafted these swords for me?" I asked inquisitively. "No, I wouldn't believe you." Ahhhh, youth, so certain of how right they are, yet they don't realize how wrong they are. "Hephaestus, personally, crafted these swords for me." I repeated with a smirk.

"Di immortales, you're so…" she said, searching for a word to describe all her hatred for me. "Infuriating," she finished. Well, that was anticlimactic. I gave her a mock hurt expression and said "that hurts me, right here, princess," I said, placing both my hands on my heart in a shocked manner. "I can't believe you'd say such a thing…"

We've finally reached the clearing. Yay. On one side, the hunters were finishing up with the setup of the camp, and on the other, the campers were gathered near a log, clearly exhausted from doing nothing. Since when did the twins become campers? Meh, it's easier to group them together. Odd, Bianca wasn't with the rest of them. Is Artemis really trying to conduct Bianca into her cult? The metaphorical body that I'm going to use, isn't even warm yet.

"Heya, how ya doin, guys?" I asked them. As the future will reveal, Nico is a very energetic young chap. Chap? Really? Meh. "THAT WAS AWESOME." He basically shouted. "Did you SEE what you did there? Dr. Thorn had no idea what was coming. You were like a ninja." If ninjas used words instead of katanas to settle petty squabbles, then sure. "And then, you were like all serious, and I was really scared, but then you showed that us that you were the good guy, and you were like WOOOSH and the monster just turned into that weird yellow stuff. And when you saw the chopper, you weren't worried at all. You just told us that you'd take care of it."

I truly doubt that I said that, or that murder is as cool as he makes it sound, but his enthusiasm makes me enthusiastic. I looked at the Goth for help, but all I got was an eye roll. I turned to the raven-haired guy, but all I got was the classic "meh, whatcha gonna do" shrug. The satyr was off in his own little world of staring at Arty through a tend thinking perverted things, probably, but that's all normal. I chuckled a bit and listened to Nico's tale of epic fighting. I doubt any of it is real though. It just sounds too amazing. Am I right, or am I right… The cricket is back, stronger than before, apparently.

Nico, then, proceeded to make a sound that sounded like someone dying. I jerked my head and realized something, and tried to stifle a snort. He was trying to breathe. I placed a hand on his shoulder while I said "breathe, in and out. Just like that." I was just about to slip up and said his name… I can't have him asking questions now. I still need some time to properly formulate a story.

I returned my hand to my side and let him finish his epic portrayal of the hero who saved the world, apparently. "You waited till the last second, and everyone thought you were a goner, but you stood calmly, like you knew that you were just too awesome to lose. You just reached into your jacket and a shield just flew out of it and hit the plane, right in the blades. It was SOOOOO AWESOME."

His breathing finally returned to normal as he finally began to qualify for talking like a normal human being. Time to introduce myself to the group. Let's hope they accept me, I think as I gush in my head… Even in my head, the jokes can't leave me. Bad head, bad. You were supposed to monitor the jokes. I would get a new head, but that would be less than optimal for my health.

"I'm Percy. What are your names?" Safe start. That usually means a bad start, but whatever, like whatever, I say as I imagined myself flipping my non-existent long hair. "I'm Thalia." The Goth said. Good, we have names now. Society is starting to build itself. "And I'm Jake." Jake? Really? Meh, who am I to mock anyone, when my name is Perseus? "And that's G-man over there, drooling." G-man must stand for Goat-man and drooling must stand for drooling. Genius, just genius. Jake looked at Annabeth and smiled, as if sharing an inside joke. "Uhhhhh, that's so cute. You two look cute. You two should make out, right here. I double dog dare you, and you know that you can't refuse a double dog dare, lest you wish the wrath of the gods to fall upon you and doom your entire life."

I could feel the glare of all the hunters on me. As soon as romance was involved, they all just tried to focus their combined hate on me, and try to melt me, I guess. "Yeah, why don't you guys kiss and get it over with, already?" Thalia supported me. I covered Nico's eyes with my hands. "You're wayyyy too young to see this," I said, despite knowing that he was older than the rest of the campers. The lies we tell everyone…

"Thalia." Annabeth hissed. She began doing vague gestures that suggested that they had already talked about this before. She wasn't ready to do this, even though that's what they both probably wanted. Time can do miracles, I guess. Let's change the subject, but try to keep those rosy cheeks, but I didn't have to do, or say anything. Something did that for me, or rather someone.

Bianca had come back, and she was, for lack of wanting to use an actual word to describe the situation, cultified. She had a silvery aura about her that matched all the hunters. I hadn't really noticed it until now. Everyone was shocked, to say the least, but Nico must be devastated. Artemis was walking behind Bianca, and she said proudly, "hunters, welcome your new sister." Cheers arose from the side of the hunters. A pissed off grunt came from Thalia, and a glare from Annabeth. Jake was just content. However, the most piercing reaction was Nico's cry of disbelief.

 **Sorry that the chapters aren't really getting longer. I promise that I'm gonna start uploading 4k chapters starting from chapter 8, and I'll be out on Friday the entire day, so no chapter on that day. I'm not sure if I'll be able to prepare a chapter beforehand because I'm still not used to this. I'll try, but no promises.**

 **Also, the AC in my room is busted. Writing is torture. I'm literally sweating in my own room… That's why I'm gonna start from chapter 8 because my AC is getting fixed then. Sorry for the inconvenience :P.**

 **Also, am I taking too long in each individual scene? Please tell me if you spot any mistake because I am very eager to be a writer that can actually, you know, write. Thanks :P. See ya soon.**

 **Btw, the program I'm using tried to change fart to far… I was like nope. Nope. I'm that kind of writer. I base my entire life on fart jokes. That's just who I am AND I GODDAMN LIKE IT. *Insert an all-too-loud fart". It did it again, :P.**

 **Again, see ya soon.**


	4. There Was Once A Little Monster

**Hey, again :P. Still looking for a dedicated beta, and I just realized that I am not at all reliable with sticking to those deadlines that I have tried to make for myself… so yeah… Anywayyyyy. The pairing of the story is going to be PercyxArtemis, just in case you thought it was gonna be something else. I want to thank all of you for just being the most awesome readers, and I want you to know, that without you, I wouldn't have been able to finish the story. I'm not even kidding. I just don't have the will power to finish the story, but for some reason, knowing that you like my story, and look forward to it, is the motivation I needed. Thanks guys :3. That's pretty much it. Dig in.**

 _Bianca had come back, and she was, for lack of wanting to use an actual word to describe the situation, cultified. She had a silvery aura about her that matched all the hunters. I hadn't really noticed it until now. Everyone was shocked, to say the least, but Nico must be devastated. Artemis was walking behind Bianca, and she said proudly, "hunters, welcome your new sister." Cheers arose from the side of the hunters. A pissed off grunt came from Thalia, and a glare from Annabeth. Jake was just content. However, the most piercing reaction was Nico's cry of disbelief._

I stared straight into Artemis' eyes as the hunters greeted their new member. She met my gaze head on. She didn't even blink. I would have kept staring, and initiated a staring contest, but someone had to be attended to, no, not a baby, Nico. Although, some (me) would argue that that is the same thing. Something to remember is that the trick to winning an argument isn't about being right, it's simply about making the person across from you believe that you're right.

I knelt on the ground, put my hands on Nico's shoulders and asked him a very simple question. "Does the duration 73 years mean anything to you?" I asked, guessing a random number that would be believable. His face was set into a frown, but he shook his head and look at the ground, mad. "73 years." I moved my hand to raise Nico's face to meet mine. "73 years." I repeated. "That's how long Bianca spent completely disregarding everything that she wanted just so that she could look out for you. 73 years, she placed all of your desires ahead of her own. 73 years, she did all she could to make sure that you were taken care of. And now, when she wants to feel what it's like to be _this_ , you're too angry about it?"

"She shouldn't leave me…" He muttered. "Now I'll never see her again." Sometimes, when I see a problem like this, one that I could so easily solve, I think that everyone is an idiot, but I realize that they're just idiots about some things. I get very annoyed, and when I get very annoyed, I'm not a very happy person. "Of course, she's not leaving you." I said with a scowl, but I thought better with it. You get more bees with honey… _And you get more with manure, what's your point?_ That's a quote from Big Bang, and you know it. Not very original, is it now? I rearranged my facial features to more closely mimic what I thought a smiling person looked like. "You'll get to see her again. The hunters come by the camp, and you can visit her whenever you want." Apparently it worked. I looked back at Artemis and said, "Isn't that right, Artemis." No reason to provoke her now.

"Nico, you can come visit Bianca." She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, as if deciding that what she was gonna say was probably not the right thing to say. I would bet my invisible ninja, Tim, that she was gonna say something along the lines of 'but not too much'. It looks like she isn't as hostile to Nico as she is to me. It probably has to do with the age thing. As soon as you hit puberty, and the ball falls, literally, you're screwed.

"You can come visit whenever you want." Bianca said quietly, if that makes any sort of sense. Then, she gave Nico a smile that I envied. A smile of an angel, a smile that said everything is fine and I still love you. **You never deserved this. You will never get this. Even with all your stupid acting. You will never have it.** Spot on work, Watson. Now, let Sherlock handle this. "Yeah, I'll do that." He said, echoing the fudging tone of his sister's voice. This has officially gotten wayyyy too mushy for me, and I must state it for the world to hear, so I stood up, and did just that. "This is too mushy. Just. Just. Too mushy." I said. "I'll just go now. I know all of you will miss me. Specially you, ladies." I pointed at the hunters. It must really piss them off that the most that they could do is glare at me.

 **This is what you do. Run, run from your problems. You can't face them, little boy.** You're completely and utterly right. Any new points? No? Cool. "I need to speak with you, boy." Artemis said coldly to me. I guess she remembered the whole lullaby thing. It's not the sort of thing you'd forgot, a voice in my head told me, as if I was an idiot. "I gotta admit it. I like it when you talk dirty to me." She ignored me and walked off to her tent, while all the hunters glared daggers at me, just itching to get their bows out and shoot the living poop out of me.

I followed her into her tent. It didn't look that different from any of the other tents, at least from the outside. Can't really speak for the inside, though. Her tent housed two chairs sitting opposite of each other, and a sleeping bag tucked neatly into a corner. I dropped my bag onto the ground and sat on the chair opposite of her. A polite guest would have asked, but if I am to maintain my façade, I own this tent. Therefore, I am not a guest. "So, how are we doing on this fine day, Arty?"

"Don't call me Arty. Not even my brother gets to call me that." She said coldly to me. I wonder when she's gonna start to warm up to me? Probably never, but I guess we're gonna have to test that theory out to make sure that's it's not a bunch of dragon dung. "Guess that makes me closer to you than your own brother. That's really sad, but I guess that's life for ya." "If Hestia hadn't asked me to refrain from hurting you, you would be dead right now." I swear, ice could have been formed from the sheer malice in her voice. "That hurts me, Arty. Words hurt too, you know…" I said sadly

This chair was very uncomfortable. Maybe, it was because it was a foldup chair, but that would be too simple an explanation. No, it must have been Artemis. She, and this chair conspired to dethrone me. HOW DARE THEY? I AM THE KING OF POOPLAND, AND I WILL REMAIN AS SUCH probably, probably not. Long story, I sat on the ground. Short story, s, end of story. Gotta love those new one letter stories. I hear, from absolutely no one, that they're all the rage right now. I patted the ground in front of me. "C'mon, sit down. Relax. I won't bite, unless you need me to suck the poison out of another bite. Then, I guess, I will." I was so tempted to go for the classic 'unless you ask me too', but as I said, it's classic.

She refused my generous offer, and kept herself firmly on the chair. I chuckled softly. "I won't tell you a word about Leto, unless you're sitting. That's just a fact, and you've seen, first-hand, how little regard I have for threats, or my life, for that matter." She abandoned the chair, and sat down, glaring at me the whole way. Silence enveloped the room for a few seconds. That was a few seconds too many. "You're very hot." I plainly said. I felt that that would break the ice better than any way too detailed description of body parts or of various activity that was to be done with said body parts. The silence was still here… Awkward. "Well, that's all I have. I'm very bad at this, cause it's my first time. I'm pretty sure it's not your first, so I'll just let you do all the work." I doubt that she missed that sexual innuendo. I very much doubt it.

"How did you meet Leto?" She asked. Wow, no warm up stuff, just straight to that? That doesn't seem quite right, but what do I know? "Like how any mortal meets a powerful being. One was attractive. The other appreciated that, and wanted it." I said, trying to make a joke. It failed. Artemis just stared at me blank. I got up and faced the other way. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to leave, but I'm veryyyy emotionally insecure, so I can't do this face to face." I said stressed the very in the most ridiculous fashion possible.

"Okay." I said quietly. "I'm going to say the story of how I met her." I turned to face her, just to make sure that we were on the same page. "I'm not going to repeat this. I'm not going to answer any of your questions." I was so tempted to say that I wasn't going to be judged, but that was just too much, even for me, or rather, especially because it was me. "This is all the information that you're gonna get from me. Okay? This isn't a rhetorical question, I need some form of agreement." She slowly nodded.

"Once upon a time, there was this little monster stuck in a hellhole. This little monster was the meanest monster you would ever meet, and the deadliest. He could kill even the mightiest of monsters. He was someone, even the gods would fear. Long ago, this little monster was employed to discipline a certain Titan for her actions. This little monster agreed without hesitation, for he had already done this to many a monster before, so what would difference would a Titan make? She… She ruined everything, and she fixed it too. This monster would never be the same because of it. All through the torture sessions, she pitied him."

"Him." I chuckled sadly. "A monster whose name was feared by all the others. It drove him mad. He would try to inflict more pain upon this angel, but she kept strong. She kept forgiving him every day, until he finally broke down. The monster dropped his mask, and became this little tiny boy. A boy that was so weak, so insecure, that even a fly would surely best him. During that night, the angel sang a lullaby to nurse his darkened soul. A lullaby that soothed his soul, and rocked him to sleep. So, when he woke up, the boy wanted to help the little angel that had fixed him, that had showed him that there was a better way."

I paused for a second, and closed my eyes to just… adjust to the idea, that now, someone would know the truth. A truth that even Hestia didn't know. "He knew of a passage out of this hell that they were in, so under the guise of the monster, he brought her and her friends to the secret passage. But, there was a big bad monster, even worse than him, and he found out about the little boy's plan. He let it go on for as long as it amused him, but now, it amused him no longer. He decided that he was to put a stop to the boy's plan. What a naïve boy… to think that he could fool the big bad monster…"

"The thing to remember about little monsters is, they have so little to lose, so it's frightening what they would do to keep what they have. This little monster fought the big bad monster, a monster that no one would have dared even look at in the eye. He fought him to buy the angel some time to escape. The little boy knew that he was no match for the bad monster, so he let his own monster fight the evil monster. He managed to buy them enough time to escape. And then… Well… It's all history from then I guess…" I ended in a sombre tone. I turned around to face her. "You can't tell anyone about this." I said. There was no threat, just a desperate plea from a man too proud to say that it was such. "And more importantly, you can never discuss what I just said with me, ever again."

There were some events in your past that should stay buried deep, deep in the ground, no matter what. "I'm going to go now. I'll take the night shift of keeping watch." I opened the tent and left before Artemis could say a word. I noticed that there was no one out, odd. Had I been talking that long? I guess time flies when you reveal your worst secrets to someone who could care less about you. I picked a tree at random from the ones that were at the outskirts of the camp, and climbed onto a branch. I laid my back against the trunk, and began the tune. I whistled softly. Two up notes, one down note, and then one up note. I repeated that song, until my voice was raw. I repeated that song, until I forgot that I even existed… I just kept repeating it.

 **I'm so sorry for making it shorter than it's already short size, but yesterday, today, and the next 3 days aren't gonna be great for writing because my AC is broken, and my house is being refined, I guess? We're just fixing the small problems that we've ignored for the past year. I want to make it longer, but I'm in a very hot room, and I'm literally sweating while writing this chapter, so… I wouldn't have even written anything, if I didn't care about you guys. :D**

 **Thanks for reading this. Tell me what you think, and how I can make it better. Expect for making it longer, because that's just biology AND I CAN'T MAKE IT LONGER NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU WANT IT TO BE LONGER, MARGE.**

 **I'll try to, though :P.**


	5. Humvees in the Sand

Do you know that beautiful view of the sunrise, where the sun seems to float just above the horizon and bathe the world in a warm light? That's the sort of view that makes you appreciate the world, and its beauty. Knowing that the sun is just a contraption thingy driven by Apollo takes away from its appeal, just slightly, but whatever.

My muscles are sore from my lack of concern for any sort of movement during the night. I stretch my muscles a bit to get rid of the soreness and they scream in protest, but who cares about the opinion of muscles? A smart person who knows that he can't do a single thing without his muscles. But then again, I never was smart, or a person.

I imagine that Artemis and her little gang of fun-minions are gonna hitch a ride with Apollo back to the camp. I don't think there's another mode of transport to get them all back to camp. Except like a train or bus. I can see it right now, all of them on the bus. The wheels on the bus go round and round. They probably wouldn't like that song. And, that would probably cause in my untimely demise. An "accidental" slip of the knife. Straight into my heart. Repeatedly. With malice. But accidents happen, right?

I'm getting off track. Stupid brain. Not even a demi-god and still have their stupid attention span. The universe sure does love me a whole bunch. Just platonic love I'm sure, not two cousins in a bathtub love. "Feel free to come out of hiding. No need to spy on me Artemis. I'm just thinking of two cousins in a bathtub, all alone... That sounded very wrong. Ignore that." I said to Artemis.

She thought she could spy on me without me noticing. That statement would be true for humans, demi-gods, her hunters, and most gods, but not me. I've been trained for far too long for someone to sneak up on me. It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you. And with Artemis right here, it should really be called the only way to live. She drops from a tree about a hundred yards back gracefully. At least I think it's gracefully. I didn't exactly bother looking behind me. "How did you know that I was there?"

"C'mon Arty, can't expect me to give away all my secrets on the first time. I mean we haven't even gotten to know each other. You need to buy me dinner first, and a bunch of roses. I like roses." I replied. I could have easily told her that I've trained far longer than I would care to admit and that I'd probably be able to beat her in a fair fight, but that wouldn't have given me the same satisfaction, nor would it have annoyed her this much. Win-win situation really. Except the part where I die. That's a loss for all of humanity.

"If Hestia hadn't told me not to harm you..." She threatened me. I mean really, if you're gonna threaten someone, you need to be very descriptive. And, I said as much. "No No No No. That's not how you threaten someone." I said getting up. Until now, I was still sitting on the ground playing with the blades of grass, while Artemis was standing next to the tree, probably waiting for her brother.

I looked straight at her to get the full effect across. "You need to be as specific as you can. Leave nothing to the imagination. Funny that that's the same advice I'd give for sexting." I don't think Arty knows what sexting is, but judging from her expression, she figured out the sex is sexting wasn't using the gender meaning of the word. "You need to say that you'd slowly cut my manhood, slice by slice so that I would suffer for days before the release of death came. That then, you'd feed it to the wolves and make me watch. You know, stuff like that. Really put the fear of God in me."

She was giving me the same face that a lot of people had given me over my lifetime. The, "what the hell, I don't know why you said that, but seriously, what the hell". It's a very specific face that I've memorized over time. But then, her expression turns to confusion and she says a single word. "God? Don't tell me you still believe that there's only one God. We're living proof that that is not true."

Arrogance is very unbecoming of pretty much everyone. Except me. I wear it like I wear my pride, figuratively. I groaned loudly and fell back onto the ground, gently moving my hand along with the grass. "The gods suck. They're not all-powerful. They're not wise. They're not crap. They barely qualify as powerful beings. I believe in Chaos, the actual God of everything. Cause, you know, making everything and leaving is the coolest move ever, and it inspires everyone."

Just as she was about to reply and probably add some deep meaning to the conversation, she was interrupted by a rather loud yellow thing playing some pretty kick-ass music. Upon further review, that yellow thing descending quickly at our relative position was the sun. Pushing away the possibility of the end of the world, I figured that it was Apollo. "C'mon, Arty. We need to go to your brother before he decides to grab a couple of the hunters and start an orgy. Although, that sounds like quite a bit of fun."

She muttered, well more like quietly said with loathing, "men are pigs". "Yep, Arty. Generalizations are the best way to go. They're never wrong and they're not a sign of a serious flaw in logic. Gold star for you." I replied sarcastically. That probably would have led to my swift demise were we not so close to the camp. Oddly enough, I discovered, at that moment, that I'm a prophet. Apollo was chatting up two of the hunters. That was a clear indication that an orgy was gonna occur. If we just ignored the small part where the two hunters are hurling insults at Apollo and look as disgusted as two people could be. Just a small part, practically insignificant.

"Apollo. How many times have I told you not to flirt with my hunters, or do you need another reminder?" At this moment, Artemis sounds more like a mother scorning her child than his sister. Apollo shuddered remembering what had happened last time he got a reminder and then the easy-go smile came right back onto his face. "Come onnnnnn. I'm just talking to them. There's no harm in talking, right little sis?" At that moment, Artemis turned rather angry, but it's the sort of angry that you feel is pointless but you have to feel it, cause principle, right?

"I am not your little sister. I helped in your birth." She fumed as my imagination made steam come out of her ears. Stupid imagination. This is when you decide to show up? Could have used you when I was bored last night. "As much as I'd love to keep this going, and trust me, I'd love to," I said, "don't we have a camp that we have to be getting to?"

"Oh, right. If you would, ladies." he said while bowing slightly towards the direction of the door of the sun. Or, rather bus. The sun is now a bus. What else is new? Is the moon a Humvee? That'd be soooooo cool, but I doubt Arty would let me step on it, much less take a look at it. Pity that I won't have the moon. The hunters got on making sure to glare as much as possible at Apollo, except Diane, Ashley and Chloe. They're the good hunters that don't knee you in the groin then don't even bother asking you questions later.

The campers then got onto the bus, the goat guy still fawning over Arty. Unrequited love, just the best kind, am I wrong, or am I wrong? I got onto the bus, then Apollo got on, closing the door behind him. "I'm so awesome. My Haikus are so awesome. Unlike my Sister." He said. I would say sang, but that would be an insult so songs all over the world. "Nope. Nope. Nope. No more of that crap. You no longer have the authority to sing. I'm just gonna sit here and drink some 'adult juice' and pretend that the sun isn't being driven by someone who sucks at his own domain."

I sat down in my seat and took off my backpack. I keep forgetting about it. I swear, I don't know how I don't lose it. Even though it's on my freakin back. I sit back and try to relax a bit. I doubt that will happen, but it's the thought that counts, right? right? Well, if that's right, then I'm going all the way to hell. My thoughts aren't exactly the best. Or good. Or even halfway normal. But that's thoughts for you. Time to actually physically relax now, not overthink it in my head.

 **Ummmm... Stuff... I guess... I'd like to say that I have an excuse for not updating in so long, but I don't. I just don't have any motivation to continue this story. Not that I don't like it or that I don't want to write it, it's just for some reason, I don't have any motivation to keep writing. I'm gonna try to keep writing, but no promises. If you know a good trick to keep yourself motivated, please do tell.**

 **Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed, but in particular, the guest who reviewed a day or so ago hoping that I hadn't abandoned the story. I don't know why, but that made me write another chapter. Sorry it's short... and stuff... :P**


	6. Dick Move (AN)

**AN:**

 **This is a gigantic dick move, and I know it, but I need some help.**

 **First off, I promise that a new chapter will be uploaded within 48 hours, but I have a request of you guys that is not tied to the next chapter being uploaded. The thing is, I tend to lose motivation pretty quickly and just deflate, for lack of a better word. I need someone to talk to, to discuss the story with, and to keep myself motivated. I was wondering if one of you little rabbits would be up for the job. Just PM me or write a review.**

 **The next chapter will be uploaded within 48 hours, regardless of what happens. However, the chapters after that, I'm not sure if I'll do them, (because I might lose the spark), but I'll try.**

 **Thanks for reading this, and sorry for being the dick who writes an AN as a chapter...**


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